Blake looked around the faces of the board members who sat around the large, polished mahogany table and groaned inwardly. A knife could cut through the tension in the air. He had gone to the meeting with a mixture of curiosity and skepticism. Knowing how traditional most of the board members could be.
His father wanted them to ratify Blake as the new president and chairman today, but Blake knew it wouldn’t be that easy. A heated debate was going on as five out of the other seven board members expressed doubts about Blake’s readiness to assume the position because of his single marital status.
Blake folded his hands on the desk and watched as the old men argued back and forth. Gerald, his father, had little to say too.
“Tell me,” Natalie, one of the two female members of the board, said. “Why it is compulsory that he had to be married to function as the President and chairman? We all know the young man just lost his wife.”
“Listen,” Rufus, the ringleader of those against Blake, said. “It is a traditional, I mean standard, belief that a married individual would exhibit more stability and responsibility,” he shrugged. “That is all. We don’t want people to lose interest in Carter Industries.”
“Yes, I corroborate his stand,” Larissa, the second woman, said. “It’s been over a year that he lost his wife and with his position in this company, he should be on the lookout for a replacement now, if he hadn’t been looking.”
“Blake,” Francis, another board member, said. “What is going on with you and the Engineer lady? Both of you have been in the news constantly. I think you should hurry and make it official.”
As the debate reached its height, emotions ran high, and tension thickened in the air. However, just when it seemed the board meeting might derail into chaos, Nat said they should give Blake the chance to defend himself.
They all agreed, and Blake cleared his throat.
“Thank you so much, everyone,” he began. “I want to categorically say that my status has nothing…” He looked around the faces in the room. “Absolutely nothing to do with my professional abilities. I am single at the moment and I won’t allow myself to be rushed to decide I do not like, concerning marriage.”
“What about the Engineer?” Francis asked. “Is she not ready to settle down? I have met the two of you at some events and I can say you both look good together.”
“Mr. Francis,” Blake looked directly into the man’s eyes. “The Engineer lady is not my girlfriend. We are just friends, nothing more, sir.”
The board members exchanged looks. That didn’t bother Blake and he continued.
“My commitment to the success of Carter Industries is paramount in my heart and it has nothing to do with whether or not I am married. Thank you.” He concluded and leaned back in his seat.
Everybody fell into silence before Duke, one of the two members who had been silent on the matter, intervened by saying that Blake’s personal life should not be a determining factor for his professional advancement. “The young man’s track record is very bright. I think we should put aside his marital status and not pressurize him at all.”
Gerald cleared his throat from the top of the table and thanked everyone for the contribution.
“As the chairman of the board, I suggest that we should put aside this issue for the time being. I propose that we discuss this at a later date.”
They all, including Blake, agreed with him.
*******
It was a Friday late afternoon, and Tasha had just finished grading her students’ papers in her office. The sun was slowly setting as she locked up her office and made her way to the parking lot for her car. Her mind was buzzing with the mental shopping list she had been making up head since morning.
She added more things to the list as she approached her car. Now that Tyson was managing aplastic anemia, their shopping list had changed drastically; they ate healthier alternatives to what they had been used to. She wasn’t complaining, so far her boy was in good health.
She got to her car and slid behind the wheel. Tasha adjusted her rearview mirror, catching a glimpse of her own tired reflection. She didn’t like what she saw, and she whispered to herself, “you have to take some rest this weekend. Forget work stuff.”
She backed out slowly, her headlights cutting through the twilight. She soon arrived at the grocery store and make her purchases. She stepped out later. She inhaled the invigorating cool air and stacked her trunk with her shopping bags, humming a popular rock music to herself.
“Hi Professor Harrison,” someone called out a greeting to her. She turned around and greeted the person. It was one of the staff from the campus. She opened her car door and drove the fifteen minutes journey to her house listening to Friday jam on the radio.
After finishing her shopping, Tasha loaded her groceries into the car and drove back to their cozy home. As she pulled into the driveway, she saw Tyson and Maggie waiting for her, along with Maggie’s two little brothers, who were eager to help with the groceries.
“Welcome mommy!” Tyson ran out of the house the moment Tasha drove up the driveway. “What happened? You came late?”
“I went to get some groceries,” she said as she got out of the car. “So I can rest properly tomorrow.”
“How was school, sweetie?”
“It was great! We had a fun day at school today. It was coach Dean’s birthday.”
“Really, I’m sure you had fun,” she replied to her son and opened the car trunk. “Let get the groceries inside, shall we?”
They both carried some shopping bags inside and came back again to carry in the remaining bags.
“Thank you,” Tasha smiled at Tyson’s help for helping with the bags and ruffled his air.
“What are we having for dinner?” Tyson asked his mother.
“Potato, chicken and veggies,” she said as she opened the freezer to put away the proteins she bought.